Table 1 Key studies of inspiration in AR... | Emerald Publishing

Table 1

Key studies of inspiration in AR

Study	Objective	Research design	AR	Inspired-by	Inspired-to	Stability of the effects^a	Main findings on inspiration
Rauschnabel et al. (2019)	Exploring how AR can improve brand attitudes	Survey	Mobile AR (smartphone)	✔	–	Cross-sectional	Inspiration increases brand attitudes
Hinsch et al. (2020)	Understanding how AR can generate the intention to engage with branded products	Survey	Mobile AR (tablet)	✔	✔ Building with Lego	Cross-sectional	Inspiration process is mediated by nostalgia but not the wow-effect
Nikhashemi et al. (2021)	Examining how AR interaction increases customer benefits, engagement and behavioral consequences	Survey	Mobile AR (smartphone or tablet)	✔	✔ Continuous intention, willingness to pay price premium	Cross-sectional	Psychological inspiration's impact on willingness to pay a premium is non-linear. AR personalization moderates the link between utilitarian and hedonic benefits and inspiration
Arghashi (2022)	Analyzing purchasing drivers in AR shopping	Experimental study (AR vs non-AR)	Mobile AR (smartphone)	✔	✔ Hedonic shopping motivation and purchase intention	Cross-sectional	Novelty drives inspiration; inspiration leads to hedonic shopping motivations and purchase intention
Arghashi and Yuksel (2022)	Understanding how inspiration drives flow (and further downstream consequences) in AR marketing	Survey	Mobile AR (smartphone)	✔	–	Cross-sectional	Inspiration drives flow, which increases engagement
Zanger et al. (2022)	Exploring how inspirational AR content can turn affect into cognition and behavior	Experimental studies (AR vs non-AR)	Mobile AR (tablet)	✔	✔ Purchase intention, WoM intentions	Cross-sectional	Inspiration mediates the effect of enjoyment on cognitive constructs, drives behavioral responses and increases brand attitude
Kumar and Agarwal (2025)	Assessing the effect of AR filters on social media users' self-concept and well-being	In-depth interviews	Mobile AR (AR filters on Snapchat and Instagram)	✔	✔ Reducing ideal actual gap, well-being	Cross-sectional	AR filters can inspire users by enhancing their appearance and encouraging experimentation and self-expression. However, they may also reinforce unrealistic beauty standards, widening the gap between ideal and actual self-perception
Tang and Zhou (2025)	Evaluating AR's role in heritage tourism, emphasizing its source of the inspiration experienced by visitors	Experimental studies (AR vs non-AR)	Pictures, videos, mobile AR (tablet)	✔	✔ Satisfaction	Cross-sectional	Inspiration acts as a mediator in the relationship between intertemporal connectedness and visitor satisfaction
This study	Understanding the anticipated life impact of AR	Survey (antecedents and outcomes of inspiration when using AR HoloLens)	wearable AR (Microsoft HoloLens)	✔	✔ Anticipated impact on life	Time-lagged	First-time exposure to AR can trigger an immediate inspiration, which drives inspired-to constructs even a week later

Study	Objective	Research design	AR	Inspired-by	Inspired-to	Stability of the effects^a	Main findings on inspiration
Rauschnabel et al. (2019)	Exploring how AR can improve brand attitudes	Survey	Mobile AR (smartphone)	✔	–	Cross-sectional	Inspiration increases brand attitudes
Hinsch et al. (2020)	Understanding how AR can generate the intention to engage with branded products	Survey	Mobile AR (tablet)	✔	✔ Building with Lego	Cross-sectional	Inspiration process is mediated by nostalgia but not the wow-effect
Nikhashemi et al. (2021)	Examining how AR interaction increases customer benefits, engagement and behavioral consequences	Survey	Mobile AR (smartphone or tablet)	✔	✔ Continuous intention, willingness to pay price premium	Cross-sectional	Psychological inspiration's impact on willingness to pay a premium is non-linear. AR personalization moderates the link between utilitarian and hedonic benefits and inspiration
Arghashi (2022)	Analyzing purchasing drivers in AR shopping	Experimental study (AR vs non-AR)	Mobile AR (smartphone)	✔	✔ Hedonic shopping motivation and purchase intention	Cross-sectional	Novelty drives inspiration; inspiration leads to hedonic shopping motivations and purchase intention
Arghashi and Yuksel (2022)	Understanding how inspiration drives flow (and further downstream consequences) in AR marketing	Survey	Mobile AR (smartphone)	✔	–	Cross-sectional	Inspiration drives flow, which increases engagement
Zanger et al. (2022)	Exploring how inspirational AR content can turn affect into cognition and behavior	Experimental studies (AR vs non-AR)	Mobile AR (tablet)	✔	✔ Purchase intention, WoM intentions	Cross-sectional	Inspiration mediates the effect of enjoyment on cognitive constructs, drives behavioral responses and increases brand attitude
Kumar and Agarwal (2025)	Assessing the effect of AR filters on social media users' self-concept and well-being	In-depth interviews	Mobile AR (AR filters on Snapchat and Instagram)	✔	✔ Reducing ideal actual gap, well-being	Cross-sectional	AR filters can inspire users by enhancing their appearance and encouraging experimentation and self-expression. However, they may also reinforce unrealistic beauty standards, widening the gap between ideal and actual self-perception
Tang and Zhou (2025)	Evaluating AR's role in heritage tourism, emphasizing its source of the inspiration experienced by visitors	Experimental studies (AR vs non-AR)	Pictures, videos, mobile AR (tablet)	✔	✔ Satisfaction	Cross-sectional	Inspiration acts as a mediator in the relationship between intertemporal connectedness and visitor satisfaction
This study	Understanding the anticipated life impact of AR	Survey (antecedents and outcomes of inspiration when using AR HoloLens)	wearable AR (MicrosoftHoloLens)	✔	✔ Anticipated impact on life	Time-lagged	First-time exposure to AR can trigger an immediate inspiration, which drives inspired-to constructs even a week later

Note(s):

^a

Time-lagged in our study refers to the measurement of inspired-by at t1 and inspired-to at t2 (on average about five days later)